Realityland's David Koenig

Breaking 57 years of clean-shaven tradition, effective today, cast members at Disneyland and Walt Disney World will be permitted to sport facial hair.

Quoting last week’s Employee Memo:
“The Disney Look is an important part of the history and heritage of the Walt Disney Company. As the company continues to evolve, the Disney Look appearance guidelines must also be prepared to be re-evaluated with awareness to industry standards.

“Effective Friday, Feb. 3, facial ...

Cats, rats, mice, all manner of fowl—regular Disneyland visitors have probably spotted them all. But workers on the graveyard shift claim to have spied another, more formidable species of wildlife wandering around the park: coyotes.

Such tales have been difficult to confirm—until recently. On October 10, a coyote was found wandering inside the tunnels underneath the Disneyland Hotel.

“It caused quite a stir with the cast members. They were running away and hiding from ...

Of the countless hundreds (if not thousands) of books written over the years about Disney’s theme parks and animation, only a small percentage have yet to be released in ebook form.

A quick search of Barnes & Noble’s Nook Store showed only a dozen ebooks about Disneyland, and almost all were 99-cent quickies. There were close to 50 about Walt Disney World, but, again, few of them appeared to be of book length or quality. Amazon’s Kindle Store had an endless supply ...

An interactive, animatronic R2D2 rolled through Disneyland this weekend, but won’t be around for long.

The character, operated similarly to PUSH the talking trashcan, began appearing in Tomorrowland Friday morning August 5. “Artoo Detoo was an immediate hit with guests,” noted one employee. “Kids, grown-ups, and cast members were excited to see him. WDI and Lucasfilms planned this as a test—guest reaction and equipment durability. Artoo will be gone in a week.”

The ...

The Disneyland Resort’s newest sweet shop picked the hottest day of the year for its grand opening, with sour results.

Dulce Aventura, a takeout window adjacent to Cocina Cucamonga in Disney California Adventure’s Pacific Wharf area, offers caramel apples, spicy peanut brittle, brownies, cookies, chocolate-covered pretzels, candy, and beverages.

The shop opened on a busy Friday, July 1, when temperatures in Anaheim soared to 97˚. Unfortunately, during the day, ...